Ambassador Zhang Yesui Addresses the Opening Ceremony of the 9th Meeting of JLG

2011/11/02

The opening ceremony of the 9th Meeting of the China-US Joint Liaison Group on Law Enforcement Cooperation (JLG) was held in the US State Department on November 1, 2011. Around 50 delegates from the Chinese and the US sides attended the ceremony. Ambassador Zhang Yesui was invited to attend and address the ceremony.

Ambassador Zhang highly commended the important role of JLG over the past 13 years since its inception. He said that with the support of the leaders and governments of the two countries as well as the joint efforts of the two sides, the law enforcement cooperation has become a shining point of the bilateral relations. He stressed that to enhance China-US law enforcement cooperation is a major component of China-US cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit. Ambassador Zhang hoped that the two sides could continue strengthening communication, properly accommodate and address each other's major concerns, consolidate legal foundation for cooperation, give full play to each other's legal wisdom, and expand practical cooperation in a wide-ranging area of law enforcement, including fighting transnational crimes, returning fugitives and extradition.

US Assistant Secretary William R. Brownfield and the co-chairs from both sides also addressed the opening ceremony. They spoke highly of the importance of strengthening China-US law enforcement cooperation. And they said that they would review the past cooperation, plan for future cooperation and the development of JLG.

JLG was launched in 1998 according to the consensus of the leaders of the two countries. The Chinese delegation to the 9th meeting this year is jointly led by Huang Huikang, Director-General of the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Yang Shaowen, Deputy Director-General of the International Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security. The delegation consists of officials from seven ministries including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Justice. They will have an in-depth exchange of views with their US counterparts including officials from the State Department, the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security.